Star Ocean: The Last Hope Releases on 28th November for PC and PS4

Star Ocean: The Last Hope, originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2009 and later on the PS3 in 2010, will soon be available as a 4K and Full HD remaster on PC and PS4. The release comes with several rewards for those who purchase the game during its launch week at $20.99 on either platform.

Tri-Ace returns to the franchise as the developer behind this port. The PC version of the game is set to offer Achievements, Trading Cards and Full Controller Support in addition to Mouse & Keyboard Controls. Early buyers on Steam will also receive a 10% discount on their purchase as well as a miniature sound-track featuring select songs from the game.

As for PS4 owners, a set of 12 PSN avatars as well as a Star Ocean PS4 theme is up for grabs and an added 10% discount exclusively for PlayStation Plus members. Star Ocean as franchise is more familiar with the PS4 as this new release will join the ranks of Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness and the remastered Star Ocean: Till the End of Time, both of which are exclusives, on the platform.

Check out the remaster in action in the below trailer:

While not one of the most popular JRPGS Square Enix has produced, the Star Ocean series is still nonetheless held in high regard by fans. Ever since its initial release in 1996, the franchise has prided itself on its sci-fi setting and real time combat, an oddity compared to the more fantasy focuses JRPGS of its age. The Last Hope, which marks the fourth mainline entry in the series serves as a prequel to the first game and follows Edge Maverick, a member of the Space Reconnaissance Force, who joined by the rest of his crew sets to find a suitable planet for the relocation of mankind after the destruction of the Earth in the wake of World War III.

The original release of The Last Hope a received generally positive reception from critics with the majority of praise being directed at the game’s phenomenal real time combat system especially with the addition of a gameplay mechanic termed the ‘Rush System’. Criticism was mainly focused on the story-line and English voice acting with the former derided for having rough pacing as well as being told in a less than engaging manner. The voice acting was labelled as horrendous by many reviewers and complaints, at least for the Xbox 360 version, were made at the exclusion of the Japanese audio track.Luckily for players, this new release won’t be subject to such an issue. Despite these flaws the game was a moderate success in sales and hopefully the remaster will bring about a greater yield.

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A huge fan of anime and video games and just an all around geek in general. First got into this lifestyle around seven yeas ago and now I don't think I could live without it. I'm also very much enamored with the techniques and skills behind great games and animation and one day hope to work in the field of Game Design myself.